Maintenance Of Problem Behavior Research Articles

DRA contingencies promote improved tolerance to delayed reinforcement during FCT compared to DRO and fixed-time schedules.

Following Functional Communication Training (FCT), clinicians often gradually expose newly taught communicative responses to delayed reinforcement contingencies to prepare clients for the normative environment in which requests are frequently reinforced after a delay. The introduction of delays may result in the resurgence and maintenance of problem behavior and the weakening of the newly trained communicative response. The current study compared delay tolerance with three individuals diagnosed with intellectual and developmental disabilities when reinforcement for the functional communication response (FCR) was delivered following (a) the passage of time, (b) the omission of problem behavior, or (c) the occurrence of an alternative behavior. We measured delay tolerance in terms of minimizing problem behavior and maintaining efficient FCRs. Outcomes support requiring alternative responding during delays to attain optimal treatment results.

Examining the Effectiveness of a Variable Momentary Differential Reinforcement of Other Behavior Procedure on Reduction and Maintenance of Problem Behavior

To evaluate the effectiveness of variable-momentary differential reinforcement of other behavior (VM DRO) schedules in the reduction and maintenance of problem behavior. Specifically, will VM DRO be effective in reducing severe problem behavior for two children diagnosed with developmental disorders (DD)? Differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO) has been demonstrated to be effective in reducing severe problem behavior for decades. However, recent manipulations to the schedule of delivery have led to advancements in DRO. Indicatively, VM DRO has been an effective intervention for automatically reinforced as well as social-positive maintained behavior for individuals with developmental disabilities. There is a dearth of research on variable- and fixed-momentary DRO schedules for individuals with DD; therefore, more examinations may be necessary. Two case studies of individuals who had been diagnosed with developmental disabilities were reviewed. Functional analyses were conducted and indicated that problem behavior for both participants was maintained by social-positive reinforcement. VM DRO was effective at reducing one participant’s problem behavior. Fixed interval differential reinforcement of other behavior (FI DRO) was effective at reducing the other participant’s problem behavior. Findings suggest that VM DRO may not be effective at reducing problem behavior for all individuals and that outcomes may be idiosyncratic.

Using Existential Themes in Couples Counseling

This article demonstrates the use of existential themes in couples counseling. Existential theory in understanding the etiology and maintenance of problem behavior in couples is discussed, with particular focus on using existential themes as a motivation for behavior change. A case example is used to illustrate the importance of helping couples to understand both the subjectivity of experience and responsibility as an ultimate concern in the process of change.

Progressing from initially ambiguous functional analyses: Three case examples

Most often functional analyses are initiated using a standard set of test conditions, similar to those described by Iwata, Dorsey, Slifer, Bauman, and Richman [Iwata, B. A., Dorsey, M. F., Slifer, K. J., Bauman, K. E., & Richman, G. S. (1994). Toward a functional analysis of self-injury. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 27, 197–209 (Reprinted from Analysis and Intervention in Developmental Disabilities, 2, 3–20, 1982)]. These test conditions involve the careful manipulation of motivating operations, discriminative stimuli, and reinforcement contingencies to determine the events related to the occurrence and maintenance of problem behavior. Some individuals display problem behavior that is occasioned and reinforced by idiosyncratic or otherwise unique combinations of environmental antecedents and consequences of behavior, which are unlikely to be detected using these standard assessment conditions. For these individuals, modifications to the standard test conditions or the inclusion of novel test conditions may result in clearer assessment outcomes. The current study provides three case examples of individuals whose functional analyses were initially undifferentiated; however, modifications to the standard conditions resulted in the identification of behavioral functions and the implementation of effective function-based treatments.

Biological, behavioral, and relational levels of resilience in the context of risk for early childhood behavior problems

Longitudinal growth patterns of internalizing and externalizing behavior problems were examined in a community sample of 441 children across the ages of 2 to 5 using hierarchical linear modeling. Contextual risk was measured using five indicators (socioeconomic status, marital status, number of siblings, parent stress, parent psychopathology), and three levels of child resilience (biological, behavioral, and relational) were also assessed. Results indicate that a general pattern of decline in both types of behavior problems was observed for the entire sample across time, although considerable individual variability in this pattern was observed. Children's externalizing and internalizing behavior at age 5 was predicted by the level of risk at age 2. All three child resilience factors were also predictive of externalizing and internalizing behaviors at age 5. In the prediction of the slope of problem behavior over time, risk status interacted with both temperamental fearlessness and a mutually responsive orientation with the mother to predict the decline in externalizing and internalizing problem behavior. Results underscore the complex interactions of risk and multiple levels of resilience that are implicated in the maintenance of problem behavior over time. They highlight the importance of considering whether expected resilience factors operate similarly across different levels of risk.

A COMPARISON OF OUTCOMES FROM DESCRIPTIVE AND FUNCTIONAL ANALYSES OF PROBLEM BEHAVIOR

We compared results of descriptive and functional analyses of problem behavior for 12 participants whose descriptive data have been reported previously (Thompson & Iwata, 2001). Results indicated that in only 3 of the 12 cases was problem behavior maintained by the consequence observed most frequently during the descriptive analysis. Attention was the most common consequence for problem behavior during descriptive analyses for 8 of the 12 participants; however, maintenance of problem behavior by attention was evident for only 2 of these 8 participants.

Teaching Practices in Classrooms for Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders: Discrepancies between Recommendations and Observations

An important issue in the study of classrooms for students with emotional and behavioral disorders (E/BD) concerns understanding teacher behavior and the teacher-student interaction patterns as coactive forces in the development and maintenance of problem behavior. Recent descriptive work in the area of teacher-student interactions suggests that teachers are employing less than optimal teaching practices. This article highlights a number of recommended best teaching practices, selectively reviews the research literature on teacher interactions in classrooms for students with E/BD, provides a possible interpretative framework for the apparent discrepancies, and makes recommendations for future research in this area.

Behavior analysis and emotional disturbance

The present paper revies the theoretical formulations of behavior analysis as applied to students with behavior disorders and emotional disturbance. The major proponents of this approach are presented along with the characteristics of the behavioral approach. A discussion of a functional analysis as the methodology for understanding the possible etiology and maintenance of problem behavior is presented. Advances in cognitive behavior modification are presented.